Small Business Owners Still Wary of Online Marketing Options

Posted on: September 19, 2013

Millions of small business owners are now facing a number of new decisions about the ways in which they are able to connect with current customers or clients and potential ones as well. However, new data suggests that many of them don’t exactly like their options when it comes to the online world.

Today, 40 percent of small business owners say that they outsource efforts to create TV and radio ads, which has always been something of an industry norm, but at the same time, 35 percent do the same when it comes to their website SEO, according to a new survey from Constant Contact. Another 23 percent pay for someone else to create their online banner ads, and 22 percent have someone else build their websites as a whole. Finally, one in five also hire outside companies for the creation of local print ads.

Interestingly, 97 percent of those polled said they current handle their social media responsibilities on their own, but 19 percent say that they wish they were doing so, the report said. The latter is also true of half of businesses when it comes to SEO, and 34 percent when it comes to online banner ads. The gaps between those desires and how they actually handle these types of marketing may show that companies are not necessarily sure of themselves when going through these efforts, but likely don’t have the resources to do so despite preferring not to devote their time to them.

“We hear from small businesses that it’s challenging to keep pace with evolving online marketing technologies, from Facebook ads, to mobile-optimized websites, to Google Analytics, so it’s understandable that many outsource these kinds of activities,” said Christopher Litster, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Constant Contact. “Managing social media is a hot button with small businesses. In an earlier Constant Contact survey, 80 percent said they conduct social media marketing, yet more than half also told us it’s the marketing activity they need the most help with, so it’s not surprising to see here that social media has the biggest gap between those who do outsource it and those who’d like to.”

Owners who want to free up a little extra cash to outsource more online content work may want to try to find less expensive small business insurance policies. Cutting costs for coverage including workers’ compensation or liability insurance can help companies save a considerable amounts of money over the course of the year.